History of the Second World War from the
fall of France and the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force (B.E.F),
the attack on Pearl Harbor by aircraft of the Japanese Imperial Fleet to
the Normandy Landings and Russian victories on the Russian Front to the
final surrender of Japan shown in historical military prints, naval and
aviation prints published by Cranston Fine Arts by leading historical
artists.

Massive savings on this month's big offers including our BUY ONE GET ONE HALF PRICE offer on many prints and many others at HALF PRICE or with FREE PRINTS! Many of our offers end in 2 hours, 56 minutes!View our Special Offers

Lull in the Battle, Central Russia, December 1943 by David Pentland.

Hornet self propelled 88mm anti-tank guns of Heavy Anti-tank Battalion 519 attached to 3rd Army, Army Group Center. Oberleutnant Erwin Kressmann commanded 1st company, while 1st platoon was led by the soon to be famous Lt Albert Ernst, who in an engagement during the Witebsk battles destroyed 14 Soviet tanks with just 21 rounds.

June 6-7, 1944 saw the execution of operation Neptune, the airborne assault of Hitler's Atlantic Wall. Arriving by glider and parachute, three allied airborne divisions, the U.S 82nd, 101st and British 2nd landed on the Cherbourg Peninsula to secure inland routes in preparation for the Allies' massive Normandy assault. Spearheading the assault, units of the 82nd Airborne Division were to land astride the Merdert River and seize the approach roads to Utah beach. The 325th Glider Infantry Regiment (GIR) arriving by sea and air, constituted the 82nd Division's reserve. Commanded by COL Harry L. Lewis, the 325th GIR was ordered to conduct their assault on the morning of D+1 and link up with parachute infantry elements that had arrived on D-Day. Initial intelligence reports given to COL Lewis prior to the invasion indicated enemy forces to be located to the South of the Regiment's landing zone, Landing Zone W (LZ Whiskey). The enemy situation changed however, as the 325th.........

The Tiger tank was one of the most fearsome tanks in the German WW2 armoury. With firepower that could destroy most enemies at long range and armour that could withstand all but the closest of attacks, the Tiger is rightfully regarded as one of the most effective fighting machines of the war.

Item Code : B0326

Tiger on the Prowl by Jason Askew. (P) - Editions Available

TYPE

DESCRIPTION

SIZE

SIGNATURES

OFFERS

PRICE

PURCHASING

ORIGINALDRAWING

Original pencil drawing by Jason Askew, with original Knights Cross signatures. Full Item Details

Although in the process of regrouping after their escape from the Cherkassy Pocket, Panthers and Panzer Grenadiers of the crack 5th SS Panzer Division Wiking are part of the relief force hastily assembled and thrown in to free the strategically important city of Kowel in the Pripet Marshes. By April 10th the Soviet encirclement of the city was broken and Wiking were pulled out of the line to continue refitting.

Item Code : DHM0954

Fight for Kowel, Poland, March/April 1944 by David Pentland. - Editions Available

Michael Wittman at the battle of Kursk. On the first day of the attack, X-Day, 5th July 1943, eleven Tigers under SS-Hauptsturmfuhrer Kling move northwards to the town of Bykovka, under instructions to break through the Soviet defences located to the south and south-east of the town. The enemy forces, which included T34s, were well placed in ambush positions to thwart the German move. Wittmann's Tiger quickly took out two of the T34s and the remaining enemy vehicles quickly retreated. It was to be a dramatic day for Wittmann and his crew - during the many sorties that were undertaken, loader Walter Koch was hit in the head with splinters and the Tiger drove over a mine, damaging one of the tracks. The injured Koch was replaced by SS-Panzerschutze Max Gaube, and the Tiger was quickly towed to safety. In spite of the small misfortunes that came its way, Wittmann's Tiger had destroyed large amounts of soviet vehicles and armour, including 8 Russian tanks.

Typical of the many hundreds of craft that took part in the 6th June 1944 landings at Normandy at the opening of Operation Overlord, these unarmed Royal Navy Landing Craft (LCAs) bravely transported many thousands of British and Canadian infantry to the beaches under the most intense fire.

Singling, Alsace, 20th August 1944. Following the fall of Metz to Patton's 3rd Army, the Allied offensive continued to push deeper into the Saar region. The fight for the small hamlet of Singling was merely one of numerous actions, but in the words of General Fritz Bayerlin commander of the crack German Panzer Lehr Division who witnessed the battle by the US 4th Armoured Division, it was 'the perfect tank attack'. Commander of the task force bearing the brunt of the action Col. Creighton W. Abrams and his men demonstrated the tactical skill and flexibility which, in five months, had made it one of the most formidable forces on the battlefield.

Juno Beach, Normandy, 6th June 1944. Sdkfz 232 armoured cars of 12th SS Reconnaissance Battalion commanded by Obersturmfuhrer Peter Hansmann observe the Canadian beachhead at Juno Beach. His small tram was tasked with finding out if an invasion was actually underway and it drove some 80km, arriving at the coast near Tracy at 7.30 in the morning to witness the landings in progress.

Kiev, Ukraine, 7th August - 26th September 1941. Panzer IIF light tanks of the 11th Panzer Division, 'Ghost', 1st Panzergruppe, Army Group South, advance during the battle of Kiev. This was to be the largest encirclement in history and a crushing defeat for the Soviet Southwestern Front.

The 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment Seizes Goronne, Belgium, Battle of the Bulge 7 January 1945. Few men in the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR) paid much attention to the distant artillery fire on December 16, 1944. Things had been relatively quiet along the front for the last four weeks while the Regiment rested and refitted at Camp Suippes, France, but their rapidly crumbling Allied front. Unbeknownst to the Allies, Adolph Hitler had deployed four German Armies for a bold counteroffensive through the Ardennes Forest. This German attack had to be stopped before it gained momentum. The 82nd and the 101st Airborne Divisions, the only reserves available to the Allies, were immediately committed to blunt this German penetration. The 82nd Airborne Division was initially deployed to the northern flank on the German attack, to counter the German main effort. The 505th PIR was assigned and occupied a 4.5 mile defensive line along the Salm River stretching from the Belgian towns of .........

Iserlohn, Rhur, 15th April 1945. In the closing days of the war, US forces surrounded the town of Iserlohn. Lying in wait, Oberfanrich Rondorf destroyed 3 of the advancing Shermans, bringing his total score of enemy tanks destroyed to 106 - at least 5 of these in the giant Jagdtiger. This action was the last for Panzerjager Battalion 512, as it surrendered itself and the town the following day.

Panzer v Ausf. D Panthers of SS Panther Division Das Reich make their debut during the initial stages of the German summer offensive for Kursk. This unit with others of the SS Panzer Korps made the deepest advances into the well-prepared Soviet lines. Complete success however, was to elude them when outrunning their supporting divisions at Prokhorovka they were forced to halt for six days.

Utah beach was the great American success story of D-day. Compared to the difficulties encountered on Omaha beach, the casualties suffered by the American 4th Division on Utah beach were described as 'light'. Although tactical problems were encountered on the Utah beach landings, i.e. the loss of many of the landing control teams, the strong tide causing problems, German placed mines sinking vessels, and the overall atmosphere of fog / low visibility, the American infantry were able to subdue and overcome the German beach defences and penetrate inland, with much greater speed than the divisions that landed on Omaha. Terrain played a role with regard to the difference in combat experience between the two American beaches. The high bluffs at Omaha gave the German defenders a certain geographical advantage, whereas the low-lying sand dunes at Utah favored the mobility of the American infantry and armor. The low-lying terrain at Utah also favored the Allied air bombardment. .........